"Did I just fly through space on a confetti cannon?"
IN THIS ONE... The Doctor and Belinda attend the Interstellar Song Contest.
REVIEW: The big problem with the season (possibly related to how contracted it is at only 8 episodes) is that episodes that should be one-offs, in particular those not written by Davies, are diminished by the writer's room implants that force them into odd shapes, or else steal their thunder with nonsense meta-arc stuff. So let me talk about the episode as conceived before heading into all the Big Story stuff. This should have been (and to a point, still is) a goofy story about the EuroVision contest surviving to the 30th Century, that then packs a gut punch as it's revealed to be more sinister as a way to criticize the actual contest's moral ambivalence. While not a 1-to-1 allegory with anything, the Hellions can represent Palestinians - the demonized survivors of a genocide, people from the "Land of Milk and HONEY" whose lands have been destroyed/stolen while the world looks on and shrugs, or worse, approves. Kid and Wynn have been radicalized into terrorist action, while Cora has been reduced to "passing" (as a member of Turlough's race!) so she can have rights normally denied Hellions, but then uses speech to raise awareness. This ties into EuroVision banning Russia for their invasion of Ukraine, and yet not Israel despite their ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people. It's just not any kind of direct metaphor.
And so we have an episode that can never mention EuroVision, but is clearly about EuroVision (every historical fact about the "Song Contest" points to EuroVision, even the host they decant once a year), both celebrating it (the Doctor and Bel are huge fans) and condemning it (or at least, the Company that holds it). The episode drops on EuroVision week, too, which is a huge scheduling win. However, it also drops near the end of a season that has made it plain Earth was destroyed on May 24th, 2025. You can have Graham Norton's hologram explain that the Song Contest was salvaged in the remains of the planet and resurrected, but it doesn't explain how Rylan Clark was cryogenically preserved (though we can accept his "Not again" to mean this is how he "survived" Earth's destruction), or perhaps stanger, how they got access to Graham Norton in this way. This was clearly written without knowledge of the meta-arc and then square-pegged into a round hole. I do not blame Juno Dawson for this (only, perhaps, for the Doctor's gross overreaction and torture of Kid, which seems out of character). She otherwise puts out an episode filled with the potential for amusement (that Dugga Doo song seems VERY EuroVision), neat references (one singer looks like an alien from The Daleks' Master Plan, for example), and socio-political commentary. There's big action, fun guest stars, and cool effects. But it kind of gets lost in RTD's nonsense meta-arc.
Most of us will be happy to see Susan again, even as a vision, though one promising an actual appearance (at the end of this series, or perhaps in the next?), not withstanding the nonsense of how this apparently unfroze the Doctor so he could swim to safety in the dead of space. And this I could take, especially if it leads to a story SOON. However, its thunder is immediately stolen by Mrs. Flood revealing herself as the Rani (which is a deep, probably unsatisfying, cut for all the people they lured to Disney+ under the heading of a "soft reboot"). With two episodes to go, it may be too early to tell if it makes SENSE, but it sure doesn't feel like it. The Rani was never able to break the fourth wall. She was an amoral scientist who experimented on whole populations, which is nothing Mrs. Flood has ever done (unless she has, but we're waiting on an explanation). It seems less interesting than tying her existence into the whole Toymaker's Children thing. Trust me, nuWho fans, this is just as much a non sequitur for us as it is for you.
What really gets my goat is that RTD doubles down on bi-generation, which was supposed to be unheard of the first time (a first time I still resent). How does this even work? Mrs. Flood is still around and following her new self like a subservient puppy? What?! Now, I'm happy to see an actual Asian actress (Archie Panjabi) play someone called "The Rani", and she seems more on-model with the character created by Kate O'Mara, but the whole thing feels otherwise misjudged. In an episode where RTD grinds the dumb "mavity" joke into the ground some more, I shouldn't be surprised to see another "greatest" hit, but man, I hate the whole concept of bi-generation. So this was never going to sit right for me EVEN IF I thought this reveal made sense or was somehow satisfying. And didn't we already do the "Two Ranis" joke in a Sarah Jane Adventures Children in Need skit?
THEORIES: I give up.
REWATCHABILITY: Medium - A watchable "the future is satire" story, and of course, it seems important for its meta-arc elements, but those are ironically what hold it back.
Comments
It might look like I'm angling for the DW equivalent of a No-Prize, but I think there's a valid theory about the bi-generation, which is that it's a hidden evolutionary adaptation triggered by the destruction of the entire Time Lord race. Consider, we've only seen three regenerations since the Master destroyed Gallifrey, and two of them have been bi-generations. Maybe it's how the unknown Timeless Child species deals with population loss? Yeah, I know - it makes me feel dirty dignifying Chibnall's garbage with any kind of logic, but what can you do?
I don't like that it exists (as it takes all the drama out of losing an actor in the role), but I like the explanation a lot!
And I'm afraid, I'm troubled by the allegorical tale itself drawing as it does some broad equivalence between the LGTBIQ+ struggle and genocide. The relatively recent documentaries Tom Daley - Illegal To Be Me (BBC) and The Corridors Of Power (PBS) explore each issue in turn. I highly recommend both, let's just say that if you happen to live in the dozen or so regions identified in the 1st documentary, at least favorable asylum programmes exist as a possible means of escape. In the 2nd scenario, you obliquely don't have that luxury as all civic, bureaucratic and diplomatic systems are usually quickly suspended amidst the chaos. The term genocide is a highly contentious, contested term, just glance at the current news cycle, but if I was to relate that in the months leading up to the Rwandan massacre thousands of machetes were strategically imported, both otherwise dark and related pathologies, but the level of intent in the second renders all equivalence nugatory.
My daughter has suggested that we could find out that The Rani is responsible for the bi-regeneration as part of her scientific tests - and she had been keeping tabs on the Doctor to see if it worked. Her theory is similar to Eric's that it would be The Rani trying to repopulate the Time Lords.
If that is the case then maybe I'll allow for RTD to do this but really it seems wrong all the same.